Writer: Syahida Kamarudin

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Watch this if you liked: “The Dark Knight”, “Memento”, “The Matrix”

Here is a winning formula. Take a little bit of action and a pinch of thriller. Put a few famous names and hold it together with some award winning ones. A taste of previous success and an acclaimed another and there you have it - an exquisite delicacy called "Inception".

If you love Nolan's narrative and mixture themes of memory, self-deception and grief in "Memento", and at the same time love his visual presentation and action sequence in "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight", "Inception" is both. With stunning visuals, familiar scores (if you remember Hans Zimmer's electronic and almost gothic orchestra in "TDK"), and the added theme, this is a film for those who crave more than just a feel good movie.

Just like "The Matrix" and "The Thirteenth Floor" in which the subject of reality and surrealism are discussed, "Inception" takes you again to dwell on the subject, without compromising the entertainment value in its presentation. Although 30 minutes from the beginning is a little boring and has too much leaning towards explanations, the movie starts to pick up its pace afterwards and amazes you with both its character build-up, architecture, mystery and action sequence.

Although you can only see Leonardo DiCaprio's name on most of the posters, it is -one way or another, an ensemble cast much like "Ocean's Eleven" or "Mission Impossible" (the series). There is not much sense in trying to decide whether Leo is a competent actor for the job, however one would appreciate the existence of other casts like Gordon-Levitt, Watanabe, Murphy and Page, which entertain us when things starts to feel a tad too serious. Kudos especially for the character of Mal Cobb - not much Cotillard for playing it, but the character itself that seems to have a life of its own.

One other issue here is that this is not a film for you to sleep at, have 10 minutes bathroom visitation, enjoy just because Cillian Murphy is such a handsome guy or chat with your friends while watching. It requires your constant focus or you will end up frowning 45 minutes into the film.

This advice is now incepted into your brain. Enjoy.

Cinema Online, 12 July 2010